The decision to close two popular Poway hiking trails last Friday and Saturday, though not obeyed by all, had the desired effect with no rescues being needed during the extreme heat wave.

That was a good thing, Poway Fire Chief Mark Sanchez said, because Poway firefighters were needed in Alpine to help fight the West fire.

“Responding to hikers in distress ties up an enormous amount of the fire department’s on call resources,” Sanchez said. “On Friday, because those resources were available, we were able to immediately respond by sending two units to the West fire. We wouldn’t have been able to do that had we been in the middle of helping a hiker off a mountain.”

The Iron Mountain trail and the Mt. Woodson (Potato Chip Rock) trail from Lake Poway were closed to all hikers each day. But that didn’t stop some. Saturday morning at 7:30 the Iron Mountain Trail parking lot was nearly full (120 parking spaces) and a half-dozen cars were parked along the highway.

Although signs were posted announcing the hiking ban, there was no enforcement of the closure at Iron Mountain. Officials believe many hikers got to the trail shortly after dawn to beat the heat. By noon, the parking lot was nearly deserted, they said.

At Lake Poway, the upper portion of the parking lot, which is usually filled on weekends with hiker’s vehicles, was virtually empty. A park ranger was on hand to warn people away.

Likewise, the closure of the Three Sisters and Cedar Creek Falls trails in the Cleveland National Forest east of Ramona was enforced and largely obeyed. There were no rescue calls.

This was the second year that Poway has enacted hiking bans when a heat advisory has been issued and temperatures are predicted to be 100 degrees or more.

“The city decided we were putting rescue personnel at risk and letting visitors be at risk so we started implementing the closures,” Rene Carmichael, a spokeswomen for Poway, said last week.

So far this year, Poway firefighters have responded to 30 hiker-related calls at the two venues — everything from people suffering heat-related issues to sprained ankles, as well as more serious health problems.

The Iron Mountain and Mt. Woodson (via Lake Poway) trails were shut down three times in 2017.